During micturition, more commonly referred to as the act of emptying the bladder, a male standing over a conventional toilet bowl with the seat up projects a urine stream exiting from his penis through an opening called the urethral meatus. If properly aimed, the urine follows a trajectory into a reservoir of water in the toilet bowl. When the toilet is flushed, the reservoir flows into a drain pipe taking the urine with it.
However, it is extremely common for some urine to fall outside the toilet bowl or splash from the toilet bowl to a surrounding area. It may land on the toilet bowl rim, on a floor or rug near the toilet bowl, on walls or in any of a number of other places. There are many additional mechanisms which produce urine deposits on walls, floors, or rugs. The reaction of women to men's urine deposits is an iconic part of American culture. Having to address this problem with a man is a source of great angst for virtually all women. As further explained below, in Europe urinating while standing is a significant social problem.
Primary modes of urine deposit outside the toilet bowl include dripping from the urethral meatus and splashing from the toilet reservoir. Likelihood of splashing is a function of the level of water in the toilet bowl reservoir. The normal level is determined by the height of the weir in a toilet trap way through which water exits. If there is an obstruction in the exit path of the water, the height of water in the reservoir will rise. Toilet flushing tends to clear minor obstructions. When users do not flush or when an automatic toilet fails to flush repeatedly, build ups of obstructions can result, raising the water level of the reservoir. There are many other causes of urine deposits. One is simple inattention by a male. Another cause is meatal stenosis, a pathological narrowing of the urethral opening which can have a number of medical causes. Deflection of a urine stream can also be a function of the amount of urine to be voided. A stream with low pressure behind it is more likely to deflect than a stream at high pressure. The urine stream can be related to many medical conditions and is often used for diagnosis.
A Victory for the Right to Pee Standing Up, The Atlantic, January 2015, accessed at https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/a-victory-for-the-right-to-pee-standing-up/384754/, chronicled a civil suit in Duesseldorf, Germany for refund of a security deposit to a tenant who stood over his toilet bowl during his lease. It is significant that the judge referred to urinating while standing up as a fading social phenomenon. There is a societal debate as to whether men should sit down when urinating. Stehpinklers, men who stand up to urinate, are pitted against Sitzpinklers, men who sit down. Sitzpinkler is used by some as a synonym for “wimp,” A device on the market in Germany includes a detector which detects lifting of a toilet seat by a Stehpinkler. The detector triggers an audio device that scolds the Stehpinkler for lifting the toilet seat. Millions of such devices have been sold in German supermarkets.
Stehpinklers may be discouraged from sitting while urinating since this is an activity performed by females. It would be highly desirable to provide an alternative by which Stehpinklers may cease standing while urinating and yet not engage in an activity that is also performed by females.
Strategies may be used to reduce creation of urine deposits. A study by a team of physicists at Brigham Young University studying the physics properties of urine splash-back in a urinal-like environment is reported at https://phys.org/news/2013-11-university-physicists-urine-splash-back-tactics.html. The study discerned the fluid dynamics involved in male micturition with the objective of determining an approach for minimizing splash-back. A water tank and nozzles were set up to simulate the natural flow of human urine as it exits the urethral meatus. Both standing and sitting positions were simulated.
The Brigham Young researchers found that one cause of urine deposits is that a falling stream of fluid breaks up into smaller packets. The researchers determined that this breakup is due to the Plateau-Rayleigh instability. The driving force of the Plateau-Rayleigh instability is that liquids, by virtue of their surface tensions, tend to minimize their surface area. In 1873, Joseph Plateau found experimentally that a vertically falling stream of water will break up into drops if its wavelength is greater than about 3.13 to 3.18 times its diameter Later, Lord Rayleigh showed theoretically that a vertically falling column of non-viscous liquid with a circular cross section should break up into drops if its wavelength exceeded its circumference. Each drop may cause splash-back. One result of this research is the determination that less splash-back and exit of drops from a toilet bowl may be achieved by directing the urine stream to hit the back of a toilet surface at a downward angle.
The prior art includes many schemes to address urine deposits.
Japanese published patent application JP2017080041A discloses a device to reduce the amount of urine landing on a floor when a man urinates in a standing position. Flaps fold out from a toilet bowl to cover areas immediately adjacent a toilet bowl. The protected area is limited. The flaps must be washed after use. Dribbling is not prevented. An alternative to standing is not provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,454 discloses a toilet training device having a target sensor placed in a toilet bowl in a position to intercept a desired trajectory of a urine stream. When the sensor detects the impact of urine, a switch is closed to actuate a music box for providing feedback as to the position of the urine stream. This device causes a male to pay attention and also helps a male child to learn where to aim. However, causes other than inattention are not addressed.
Japanese published patent application JP2009131612A discloses a base placed at a toilet bowl for allowing a man to put his knees on the upper end surface and to urinate in a kneeling posture. This device interferes with other uses of the toilet bowl and must be moved to allow normal usage. The device does not provide for the utmost stability of the user's position. The urethral meatus is positioned at a side of the toilet bowl and cannot be placed over the reservoir. This arrangement is still subject to effects of dribbling.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,298 discloses a stand that is separate from a toilet bowl and has a pad on which a single knee may be supported. Since only a single knee is supported, the user cannot be supported in a stable condition. The device must be moved to a side of the toilet bowl and must be repositioned with each use. Because the device must be repositioned for each use, the position of the user is not repeatable. Therefore, the user cannot develop a muscle memory to achieve the same result with each use. This arrangement is still subject to effects of dribbling.